: Re: How to convey the anatomy of a humanoid race? I am writing a extra-terrestrial high fantasy novel. The story is completely set in an alien world. No visits from Earth and no visits to

@Sent2472441

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We tend to assume whatever we're reading about is humanoid, unless we're told otherwise. (In fact, multiple stories exploit this trope to reveal later in the story, or in the very end, that the character wasn't in fact human.) Which is to say, your readers are going to start with the assumption that the characters are humanoid.

You fear that once your readers receive the "laying eggs" information, they will change their whole perception of your race to "bird-like". To prevent that, you would need to provide enough information to make it clear that they aren't.

If you never ever mention wings or flying, that's a good indication that your characters don't have wings. Then, I'm sure at some point you will mention a character walking or running, holding something in one's hands, etc.? That's indication that your characters have arms and legs, similar to humans. Those day-to-day actions and the way they are performed are all the indication that is needed of the character's body. You don't need an explicit description of someone having two arms and two legs. In fact, if they have three legs, for instance, you wouldn't want an explicit description either, but give the information through a description of such day-to-day actions.

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